The REAL Columbine

In class, we read a pretty lengthy excerpt from a book by Kimmel. It was about Masculinity and violence. I started off reading this article with a closed mind, because I thought I knew pretty much everything about these school shooting, like Columbine. What I realized was that I really didn't know anything about Columbine, I only knew what the media portrayed about Columbine. I thought that Columbine was just another "children killing children" event, and did not even think about why Harris and Klebold did what they did to their teachers, classmates, and school. I now know part of their thinking behind this massacre. Harris and Klebold were two friends that were not at all considered "cool". They were the "rejects", the "weirdos", the "faggots", the "homos", and were constantly name-called and made fun of. Harris and Klebold didn't just wake up one morning wanting to take revenge, they plotted and planned for quite some time; they wanted to make it very clear that words can be so hurtful and the words that were said to them and many others on a daily basis are not okay.
I am so happy that we had to read this excerpt from Kimmel's book. I think it is very important for people to go out of their way to be aware and try to stop bullying and hurtful name-calling. Everyone needs to learn to be more aware of what they are saying and how their words could be interpreted.  People don't always realize how hurtful their words can be, but hopefully the REAL Columbine story can help people learn.